Chile – 2700-mile coastline, deep water trench offshore, chilled by the Humbolt Current. Tough coastal access — 4WD often needed. Lots of big left-hand points that can be epic, if the sand shifts into place. 4/3 wetsuits with booties and gloves are the go. Arica is one of the premier spots with a right and left reef breaking off a man-made peninsula. Learn Spanish and drink Pisco, the cheap white rum, but not in public. Drinking is confined to bars here. Bring big boards cause you have to paddle to get to the breaks.
Subject: Re: surf travel ideas …. where the dream begins
Date: 1999/03/25
Author: VE
i have a sizeable continental airlines one pass account just sitting there begging to be used. i thought i would toss up some ideas to the group and see what some of you think if you have been to any of these locations. my travel dates would be sometime between january and august 2000. prefer a january or feb. trip, but i am afraid the best swell windows are in july/august. i have over 50,000 miles, which gives me many options. i want to make this a low-budget trip, therefore my main criteria are: 3rd world country, spanish speaking warm water low crowd factor good surf close to point of arrival if possible, would love to be able to take a short cab ride to a cheap hotel or bungalow sitting within walking distance to a left point and a right point, but i know i am dreaming. will spend about a week, 10 days max, dont want extensive driving time. continental airline route… prefer left points, mixture is best, but would rather not have an all rights area prefer reefs and points with longish rides over wham-bam-thank you ma’am death beach breaks. prefer a place to stay near surf as opposed to camping. would rather drive an hour to a secluded spot rather than camp on it. 1 star accomodations is fine.
How about Chile? The southern portion of the country has miles and miles of left points. A friend of mine traveled around S. America a few years back and spent most of his time in Chile. He eventually moved there and tried to find a job/start a business. He showed me some pics, about 10 or so showing a perfect long left. I was totally blown away. Then he told me, “Those are all different spots”.
Don’t know anything about accommodations, but things are supposedly stable there now. The climate is California-like, apparently (they have great wine). The northern part of the country has gnarly reef breaks. This is where my friend ended up, I think.
Peru has Chicama and Punta Lobos, but the country has a reputation for being unsafe. Good luck on your decision. I wish I was you.
Re: Chile
when i went to chile (flew with lan chile) i traveled with my family and forced them all to travel light so that we were three bags under the free limit, they then let me send my boards for free. on the way back we were bumped from our flight so once again we were allowed to send my board free. i think the normal rate is 50 to 75. however if you are not as lucky as me you probably could still sweet talk them down a little, especially if you know spanish. Ticket agents have more power than we realize. If you’re real nice and cool, they might waive the fee. Chances are though, they won’t. It sucks, but that’s how we surfers have to travel. Speaking the language helps. I sweet talked the nice lady in P.R. and she didn’t even mention it.
Re: Chile
I went to Chile a number of years back. I only had a few days but I went to this spot called Punta Los Lobos. This spot is a point break and you have to go to Pichilemu. This town , when I went was just starting to become a tourist attraction (good location , nice beaches). The town is about a 3 hour drive south of Santiago (the capital). The waters are rather cold so If you have a steamer it is a BONUS! I managed with a shorty while bodyboarding! Be prepared to meet all sorts of people (mostly argentinians-who are major ASSHOLES-but you get the occasional cool ones. Californians, Aussies, Isrealies, Brasiliens etc..) Mind you, there are a maximum of 15 to 20 surfers, when I surfed. By the way , when you drive out to the point you will be on a dirt road. When you get to the end, to your right you have the access to the public beach (DONT go that way) ahead of you there is a gate with a watchman drive up and he will let you go by. The gentleman (frenchman I think) who owns this land is a surfer and allows only surfers to access and stay on his property! Just as long as your boards are on your rack or just show him your boards. (I just popped the trunk and showed him my Bodyboard. He should not give you any problem.
As for the north part of the region, Antofagasta I hear has some killer breaks, best thing to do is to go to the local surf shops and tell the guys there what your situation is, they will be more than glad to help. They usually organize trips. But going to the north is like 18 hours drive to Antofagasta. But once you’re there it is just a hop skip and a jump to Peru for some incredible points! Well I hope this helps, let me know how it went!
Nick
Re: Chile
I have surfed in Chile which is just south of Peru. If you want to head down try Arica it’s on the border of Chile and Peru. There is a nice left point break on Isla Gingro which is near the harbor. Very rocky so bring booties and wear a suit if you can so you don’t get scraped up. There is also a nice beach break similar to huntington north of downtown Arica. Many hostels near downtown if you would like a contact down there e mail me and I’ll look up a guy’s address that i met down there.
